Cutter homeported at shipyard credited in $1.8M bust

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Reliance, homeported at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, assisted this past Sunday in the seizure of an estimated $1.8 million worth of marijuana in the Caribbean Sea.

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seacoastonline.com

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Posted Mar. 5, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Posted Mar. 5, 2014 at 2:00 AM

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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — The Coast Guard Cutter Reliance, homeported at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, assisted this past Sunday in the seizure of an estimated $1.8 million worth of marijuana in the Caribbean Sea.

The Coast Guard, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations seized a go-fast vessel carrying 750 pounds of marijuana and apprehended two men, a Jamaican national and a U.S. citizen, claiming to be a resident of Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.

While on a routine patrol Saturday night, the crew of a customs' maritime patrol aircraft detected two men aboard a suspicious go-fast vessel operating with no navigational lights and carrying suspected contraband, approximately 50 nautical miles south of Cabo Rojo, Puerto Rico. Coast Guard Sector San Juan watchstanders diverted Cutter Reliance and the Cutter Farallon to interdict the vessel.

The Reliance arrived on scene and launched a smaller boat to pursue and interdict the vessel. The suspected smugglers began to maneuver aggressively in an attempt to evade interdiction. The Reliance ended the pursuit at 3:18 a.m. Sunday, when its crew interdicted the vessel approximately 40 nautical miles south of Puerto Rico.

Crew of the Reliance boarded the vessel, detained the two men and seized 30 bales of marijuana. The Reliance brought the suspects and marijuana to Ponce, on the island's southern coast, where they transferred custody of the suspects and contraband to Customs and Border Protection and ICE-HSI special agents for investigation and final disposition.